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Issue: Vol. 4441 No. 1: 26 Jun. 2018
Type: Article
Published: 2018-06-26
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4441.1.2
Page range: 46–58
Abstract views: 97
PDF downloaded: 1

A phylogenetic assessment of the meadow lizard Darevskia praticola (Eversmann, 1834) from Iran

Department of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Management, Environmental Sciences Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University, G.C., Evin, Tehran, Iran
Department of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Management, Environmental Sciences Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University, G.C., Evin, Tehran, Iran
Department of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Management, Environmental Sciences Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University, G.C., Evin, Tehran, Iran
Department of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Management, Environmental Sciences Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University, G.C., Evin, Tehran, Iran
Department of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Management, Environmental Sciences Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University, G.C., Evin, Tehran, Iran
CIBIO Research Centre in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources, InBIO, Universidade do Porto, Campus de Vairão, Rua Padre Armando Quintas, 7. 4485-661 Vairão, Vila do Conde, Portugal
Reptilia Meadow lizard Darevskia praticola Iran Phylogeny mtDNA Alborz Mountains Numt gene

Abstract

The meadow lizard Darevskia praticola (Eversmann, 1834) displays a wide distribution range from the Western Balkans and Caucasus to the Hyrcanian forest in Iran. Based on previous studies, four subspecies have been described (D. p. praticola, D. p. pontica, D. p. hyrcanica and D. p. loriensis), but molecular evidence suggests two main phylogenetic lineages, Balkan and Caucasus. In this study we incorporated geographic records and analysed new samples from Alborz Mountains (Gilan Province, Iran), exploring their phylogenetic affinities using two mitochondrial markers (Cyt b and ND4). For the first time, Iranian samples are included in a molecular phylogeny. Our results meet the previous suggestions regarding the presence of a nuclear mitochondrial DNA fragment (numt) in Cyt b, causing misleading phylogenetic inferences since it renders the species paraphyletic. In contrast, the ND4 genealogy groups the species into a monophyletic clade, as expected. Samples attributed to D. p. hyrcanica (Azerbaijan and Iran) and D. p. loriensis (Armenia) are settled in a single clade with minute genetic distance, suggesting synonymisation.

 

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